An American engineer standing trial for spying and revealing secrets to China has also been indicted for passing secrets to Israel. The indictment filed against Noshir Gowadia, 62, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin, does not provide details to the nature of the secrets passed to Israel or to whom they were given. If convicted, Gowadia could face the death penalty. The secrets revealed to China are the primary allegations in the indictment, and those revealed to Israel secondary. Gowadia is also alleged to have delivered U.S. secrets to Germany and Switzerland. The indictment indicated that Gowadia's motivations were financial only. Gowadia is charged with passing information for an unspecified period to business sources in Israel, although he in no instance received payment for his services... http://www.haaretz.com

Two suicide bombers have killed 35 people and wounded 60 at a police commando recruiting centre in western Baghdad, police say. Crowds of young male volunteers were gathered at the base when the bombers detonated explosive belts. Sunni Arab insurgents frequently attack recruiting centres for the US-backed Iraqi government's security forces. Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has called for a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle. His call, made to a closed session of parliament, was "in the light of the current situation in the country", a statement from his office said. Reuters news agency reports that mortar rounds were fired at the police recruiting centre, in the Qadissiya neighbourhood, shortly after the bombers struck. A series of other bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital on Sunday left at least 10 people dead: ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6140684.stm

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution Saturday that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory.U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the Arab-backed draft resolution was "biased against Israel and politically motivated.""This resolution does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace to which we aspire and for which we are working assiduously," he told the Security Council.The veto unleashed a flurry of criticism in the Middle East."This decision by the U.S. government gives unlimited cover to commit more massacres of innocent Palestinians," said Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian government. "This is a shame on the American administration, which says it is trying to promote human rights and democracy in the Middle East."...http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4328532.html

For a little more than $38 billion, the United States and its contractors in Iraq have provided 4.6 million people with access to water. They have distributed seeds to Iraqi farmers, improving wheat harvests. With electricity-generating capacity now above prewar levels, they have given many Iraqis more daily hours of power. They have repaired more than 5,000 schools and vaccinated 4.6 million children against polio.The list goes on. But as the U.S.-led, U.S.-funded portion of Iraq's reconstruction nears its end, American officials and contractors alike are grappling with a cold reality: Thousands of successes in Iraq may add up to a single failure."We accomplished a significant amount of work. But it was just overwhelmed by the overlay of violence," said Clifford G. Mumm, who has spent much of the past three years in Iraq managing projects for Bechtel Corp. "It's hard to be very optimistic."...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/11/AR2006111101076_pf.html

As the results of the midterm elections sank in this week, religious leaders across the ideological spectrum found something they could agree on: The "God gap" in American politics has narrowed substantially. Religious liberals contended that a concerted effort by Democrats since 2004 to appeal to people of faith had worked minor wonders, if not electoral miracles, in races across the country. Religious conservatives disagreed, arguing that the Republican Party lost religious voters rather than the Democrats winning them. Or maybe they seen that Bush had 6 years he could have done something about Abortion, and all he done was talk about it. Also, he was so phony acting like a Christian that he made Elmer Gantry look good that they just felt ashamed that they ever fell for anything he said. It had nothing to do with liking the Democrats better, they just felt betrayed by the Republicans and their phony talk of Family Values...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15662295/

Concerned about the US government's prying eyes, a number of Canadian universities are changing the way their professors and students conduct online research. Many university libraries subscribe to RefWorks, a popular US based Internet tool that allows academics and students to create personal accounts and store research information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. But the Patriot Act which grew out of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and which potentially allows US authorities to sweep through databases such as RefWorks has prompted Canadian postsecondary institutions to abandon the American server for one housed at the University of Toronto. “There is certainly concern within Canadian university libraries. It's a concern about a foreign country having access to your personal information without good cause,” said William Maes, librarian at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “That's the devious thing of the Patriot Act, they can do this without letting anybody know.”...http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061111.wxuniversities11/BNStory/National/home